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Heaven (Starcross)
Summary Heaven is a universe, one of the many multitudes of worlds within existence. As a world, it is somewhat similar to our own - an infinite expanse of planets and stars stretching across the endless sky. Although endless, Heaven is occupied by a single class of being, and none else - angels, superweapons artificially grown in labs across Heaven. Heaven is also the common name of one of the oldest empires in existence. Founded billions of years ago, with a history longer than those of many universes, the Seraphic Empire of Heaven is a totalitarian theocracy dedicated to absolute domination. While Heaven is under the nominal rule of the Luminary Sovereign, believed to be the incarnation of God itself and the founder of Heaven, the Luminary has not acted in billions of years. In her place, Heaven is dominated by the rule of her archangel “children”, and, highest among them, the Archangel of Justice, Mastema. While the archangels are supposed to be equalo in power, Mastema is the highest among them due to her own manipulations, and is thus, in all but name, Heaven’s ruler. History The true history of Heaven is a closely guarded secret, obfuscated by billions of years of religious propaganda churned out by the Heavenly elite. Most angels know little more of the truth than non-angels, buying into Heaven’s lies completely. Even those that know greater portions of the truth rarely know the full picture. Heaven was founded by the Luminary Sovereign. While most angels only know her as the Divine, God, or any number of other names and titles, her true name is Yaldabaoth. She was the science experiment of a group of seraphs, created as a superweapon. The experiment went horribly right; while Yaldabaoth came into the world with extraordinary power, she quickly developed a deep-seated belief that she was some being of great importance. This belief grew stronger and deeper over time, and Yaldabaoth grew to see herself as the creator of all things, and the maintainer of the physical world. After killing her creators, Yaldabaoth ultimately came to a universe that had only just begin to exist, still expanding from its Big Bang. She weaved her magic into the fabric of the universe, creating cosmic laws strong enough to stand up alongside the laws of physics themselves. Among these is a law that forbids the development of any life that Yaldabaoth did not initiate herself. As a result, no real life besides angels endures in Heaven - while a few stunted aberrations have formed through exploiting loopholes in Yaldabaoth’s laws, these beings can hardly be said to think, and are quickly exterminated by angels. The first of the seven archangels that Yaldabaoth created prior to the angels was Mastema, and then, Abaddon, Uriel, Sariel, Jophiel, Gabriel, and Raphael. They were built off of the template of seraphs; partly in Yaldabaoth’s image, and partly in the image of the creators she faintly remembered. She created each archangel with a role in mind, and with them at her side, far too young to have any real personality or motivations of their own, Yaldabaoth created Heaven. She created, or at least designed, all of Heaven’s infrastructure and codified its laws. She oversaw the creation of angels, based on the original seraph template, but allowed to diverge from it more than the archangels. Under her strong command, and unified by a fanatical, indoctrinated belief in her place as the supreme god of all things, Heaven began to spread. Heaven conquered countless planets in many universes, and little could stand against Yaldabaoth’s armies of super soldiers. Many tried, to varying degrees of success, and Heaven’s expansion slowed as it got bogged down in more and more wars. Among these was Hell, a cluster of pocket universes filled with demons, another species descended from seraphs. Much of Hell had been united by the famous King Leviathan by this point. This culminated in a personal battle between the two of them, a fight in which, for the first time in her life, Yaldabaoth was legitimately threatened. Leviathan ultimately defeated her, and though she could not bring herself to kill her, Yaldabaoth was still forced to withdraw. While she initially refused to accept or acknowledge her loss, she gradually came to terms with it. She grew to see Leviathan as her destined nemesis, and with this in mind for her future, focused on strengthening Heaven. Before she could fight Leviathan again, however, she was killed by a rival demon lord. Yaldabaoth was distraught and confused, cursing the world for striking her one rival from the world, and slowly withdrew as apathy overtook her. She became lethargic and increasingly vain, and quietly stopped caring for the world she believed she had created. With the Luminary Sovereign doing absolutely nothing, power was left in the hands of the archangels. Disillusioned by the slow fall of the “god” she had idolized and followed doubtlessly, Mastema resolved herself to build Heaven stronger than Yaldabaoth ever had. Without Yaldabaoth to manage things, Heaven had slowly fallen into disarray, with many angels turning to self-indulgence, and riots, rebellions, and other cults started to develop. So, Mastema consolidated her power, and brought order to Heaven once again with her siblings at her side. The riots and revolutions were stomped out, any cult but the highest was purged as heretical, and the uselessly corrupt were summarily executed. During this time, Heaven lost much of its old territory as Mastema drew her attentions inward, and though Heaven shrank in size, Mastema built it up stronger than ever before. Despite Yaldabaoth’s effective absence, Mastema retained her role as the central figure of Heavenly belief, but slowly took her place as ruler of Heaven. She remained nothing more than the Archangel of Justice on paper, but, in truth, she was Heaven’s one true ruler, with no opposition. This changed, over time; as more and more fallen angels amassed, and as many of them joined Hell and became demons, Heaven’s reputation as a tyrannical theocratic state spread. Mastema, aware of this, slowly strengthened her armies, preparing to continue the absolute domination that Yaldabaoth had started. While this began, it came to an end during the Luciferian War, when a demon, once an angel, unified Hell once more and fought back against Heavenly domination. The resulting war was the most destructive war in Heavenly history. Hell was not alone; the many civilizations of the many universes Heaven had gouged fought back, as well. Heaven was ultimately forced to cease expansion once more, but they left their mark on the world. Lucifer was defeated, believed killed by many, and Hell fell into instability once more. Instead of continuing expansion, however, Mastema instead chose to slowly recuperate and bide her time. During this time, she focused on keeping Heaven stable, quickly crushing more rebellions and strengthening her grip. While Heaven was not truly involved in anything more than skirmishes, propaganda kept civilians convinced that they were still locked in war with all their enemies. In this way, Heaven has kept stable for countless millennia, its armies and technology growing stronger and stronger with every year, let alone millions of them. As opposed to open warfare alone, Mastema has slowly manipulated her enemies through her passivity and subtle plotting, leading many to believe that if Heaven even ever existed in the first place, that it was long gone by now, even as its agents sink its tendrils into every universe it once touched. As time has passed, Heaven has become more active, alerting all to its existence once more, and showing that time alone will not destroy its legacy. Of course, while that is the truth, very few know it. As decreed by propaganda, most angels believe that, once, in a time so long ago there are no numbers long enough to record it, Heaven ruled all things. Their empire stretched to every star, across every void, and angels existed beyond numbers. And yet, due to the treachery of a once great angel, it collapsed. They point to the existence of renegade angels, seraphs, star spirits, and demons as proof, seeing them as degenerate, primitive races of angel that need Heaven’s light to find their way - or to scour them from existence. Government Heaven’s nominal Head of State is the Luminary Sovereign, Lord Yaldabaoth. While Yaldabaoth was once the Head of Government - and still is, “officially” - she is little more than a figurehead and a legend now, and has not managed anything in Heaven in billions of years, leaving it instead to her immediate subordinates, her archangels. The archangels make up Heaven’s executive branch, acting as its cabinet. With Yaldabaoth all but absent, Mastema holds all the power and is the true Head of Government. With nothing to balance out her authority, Mastema acts as Heaven’s absolute ruler; she can pass and interpret laws as she pleases, and all of Heaven’s branches are at her command. Each of the seven Archangels oversees one of Heaven’s seven branches, each of which manages a separate part of Heaven. Due to Mastema’s influence, many of these have been essentially absorbed into her Judiciary and are thus at her disposal. The seven branches and their archangels are; #'The Judiciary:' Mastema, Archangel of Justice #'The Heavenly Host:' Abaddon, Archangel of War #'The Shepherds:' Uriel, Archangel of Light #'The Heavenly Press:' Sariel, Archangel of Truth #'The Angelic Research Bureau:' Jophiel, Archangel of Knowledge #'The Angelic Administration:' Gabriel, Archangel of Duty #'The Heavenly Mercy:' Raphael, Archangel of Mercy The Judiciary As Mastema’s branch of the government, the Judiciary is the most powerful of all of Heaven’s branches. While the rest of the branches are supposed to be separate, many of them are little more than organs at the Judiciary’s disposal. Judges can interpret laws as they please, and Mastema has the power to introduce and immediately pass any laws she wants. She can overturn the laws in the same way. While other judges and high-ranking angels have some say in the process and can introduce their own laws, the choice is always ultimately Mastema’s. There is no separation of power, with everything instead being firmly under Mastema’s control. Heaven’s court systems are divided between its sectors, with a few greater regional courts, and then the supreme court, presided over by Mastema and six other, lesser justices. Mastema herself rarely weighs in on trials, but when she does, it is tantamount to a death sentence. Though it may take time for the courts to process reports of crimes and get to trial, angelic courts are notoriously harsh, and crime is not taken lightly. Verdicts are generally decided upon before hearings, and defendants have no real power to protect themselves from accusations. Even completely incorrect accusations can result in guilty verdicts with no room for argument. Heaven’s prisons are regularly filled with those found guilty; most of these angels are tortured, put to work, killed for their souls, or sent to the Angelic Research Bureau for experimentation and probable recycling. Those lucky enough to not be imprisoned are usually badly beaten and demoted. The most feared punishment in Heaven is a Fall. In response to the gravest of crimes, an angel is immediately stripped of their halo and wings, and then thrown into Fantasy. Most of them die, losing themselves in the abstract magical sea between universes, but some survive as fallen angels. Fallen angels are seen with pity, and are sometimes hunted down are killed if their crimes are severe enough. Others still are killed outright. Becoming a part of the Judiciary is extremely difficult; those that are found to be potentially good fits are singled out during conditioning and are subject to further education before becoming official members of the Judiciary. The Judiciary works closely with the Shepherds, Heaven’s police force, to root out criminals of all varieties. The Heavenly Host The Heavenly Host makes up all of Heaven’s military forces, often disdainfully referred to as “locusts”. The angels that make up the Heavenly Host are extensively trained in combat and magic immediately after conditioning, and are, over the rest of their life, constantly subject to further indoctrination and propaganda, magical supplements, and modifications to increase their power even further. While many members of the Heavenly Host are selected during conditioning, any member of Heaven can choose to join. More and more angels created with the intent of becoming a part of the military with every year, as Heaven builds up its forces. Despite being somewhat small in comparison to many other militaries, individual angelic soldiers are extremely skilled, experienced, and powerful, and their military is constantly growing larger. Soldiers of the Heavenly Host are regularly called back to Heaven for brief periods during their service, to give them a chance to rest and spend time in the most sacred of places, reflecting upon their blessed missions. Abaddon is the highest official in the military, and is fearfully respected in Heaven as the one who defeated Lucifer millions of years in the past. While she has technical control over the military, she is little more than Mastema’s lapdog, and the military is thus under her power. The Shepherds The Shepherds are Heaven’s police forces, and are closely intertwined with the Judiciary in the execution of their duties. Shepherds patrol Heaven’s streets, upholding curfew and keeping an eye out for any signs of crime or dissidence. Angels are encouraged to report crimes to Shepherds and are rewarded when they do so. Shepherds are just as often selected from newly-assessed angels as from the ranks of the military. Peacekeepers are assisted by the Ophan, massive, glowing, orb-like angelic constructs created to patrol the streets and constantly report information back to their superiors. Much like normal angels, Ophan possess halos and wings, along with all their powers; however, they typically lack some level of self-awareness, essentially being high-power automatic security systems. There exists a more secretive branch of the Shepherds that works together with all of Heaven’s branches to assure its security and supremacy. Known as Angelic Intelligence, and often referred to as Halo Eight, it functions as Heaven’s secret police and intelligence agency. AI keeps track of possible internal and external threats to Heaven and directs the efforts to deal with them, managing most of Heaven’s espionage and assassination activities. Only the most loyal, zealous, and competent angels are recruited to AI, from any branch that produces one skilled enough to deserve the position. The Heavenly Press The Heavenly Press is responsible for maintaining Heaven’s popular culture, media, and propaganda. It has complete control over all media in Heaven, being the sole producer of all of it. It churns out all of Heaven’s propaganda and clears anything that goes against Heaven’s teachings. It glorifies angelic leaders, particularly the archangels, and vilifies their opponents, constantly spreading lies and misinformation. The archangel in charge of the Heavenly Press is Sariel. However, Sariel does little to manage the day-to-day operations, instead leaving it to Metatron, her protegee and the second-highest ranking official in the Heavenly Press. Metatron is thus responsible for managing most of Heaven’s propaganda output and media. The Angelic Research Bureau The Angelic Research Bureau is dedicated to the research and science of magic. The creation and assessment of new angels falls under its jurisdiction, along with the development of new military technologies. The ARB constantly works to improve on the process of creating new angels, as well as creating new angelic constructs and improving upon the structure of halos. The Heavenly Host works closely with the Angelic Research Bureau to produce new weapons and stronger angels. The archangel in charge of the Angelic Research Bureau is Jophiel, whose ambition, individualism, and independence contrasts wildly with the other archangels, who regularly clash with her. The Angelic Administration The Angelic Administration is the most populated of Heaven’s branches, filled with angels that Heaven finds basically useless otherwise. The Administration duties revolve mainly around the processing and storage of the constant tonnes of paperwork and information, as well as managing communications. The angels of the Administration are kept in Heaven at all times, and as a result are exposed to more propaganda than any other angels, making them unquestioning, obedient and loyal. The archangel in charge of the Administration is Gabriel, who has little interest in the constant paperwork and bureaucracy of her inferiors and shirks most of her duties onto her immediate subordinates. Instead, she prefers to indulge her own desires and work with Mastema to deal with Heaven’s enemies. The Heavenly Mercy The last of Heaven’s branches, the Heavenly Mercy is devoted entirely to Heaven’s religion. It is present all across Heaven and is incredibly important, managing religious services and overseeing the worship and prayer that must be performed by all angels. Among its many roles is spreading Heaven’s faith across all of existence, with its operatives sharing the word of their god and silencing any less desirable voices. Angels are expected to regularly attend Heaven’s religious services, and those that aren’t often find a Shepherd knowing on their door to make sure they don’t stray from their path. The Mercy works closely with the Shepherds, acting together to root out any potential heretics and punish them before their cults can spread. While many members of the Mercy are as pacifistic as angels come and prefer to stay in Heaven and care for their kin, there is a secretive sect open only to select angels who showcase the necessary qualities, foremost among them being blind zealotry. The members of this sect, known as Azazel, the Scapegoats, train near-constantly in Logos, which they see as the only true way to worship the Luminary Sovereign, and put this knowledge to use in assassination. Azazel answers to directly to Angelic Intelligence, though Scapegoats often act on their own. Rumors that the Scapegoats perform sacrificial and cannibalistic rituals persist even among the highest ranked angels in Heaven. The majority of Heaven’s greatest silent killers and Logos masters come from the ranks of Azazel. However, when it comes to sheer skill in Logos, there is not a single being in Heaven that can equal the Archangel of Mercy, Raphael. While she embodies the precepts of the Heavenly Mercy as a gentle, calm spirit with a pure heart, she has been caught up in Mastema’s delusions, as with the vast majority of Heaven. Despite her peaceful behavior, she often directs Azazel’s operations on her own due to her high position. Territory and Planets Heaven spreads through an astonishing portion of its home universe, even if it cannot reach every location within it due to its infinite expansion. The most densely populated region of Heaven is the galaxy group in which its capital planet, Malkuth, is located, the First Firmament. Containing exactly 62 galaxies, the First Firmament has around 80% of Heaven’s total population within it at any given time, spread out far across all those galaxies. The structure of Heaven’s architecture covers entire planets, and is made up of massive cities, temple complexes, laboratories, and space stations of varying sizes. Angels primary live in very small communal living spaces with little, if any, room for personal belongings, densely packed into various locations spread across Heaven. The outskirts of the First Firmament grow less and less populated the further they are from Malkuth, but there are angelic populations and installations all over Heaven. However, many of Heaven’s worlds are not used for habitation. Entire planets are hollowed out to be used as testing facilities or angel production plants, and even more still are completely burnt up for the magical energy they supply. Across all of Heaven’s worlds, there is no wilderness, and no wildlife. Only angels and their constructs inhabit this world. Heaven’s architecture would appear to the naked eye to be stunningly monochromatic, being primarily white, but to the advanced, magical vision of angels, it shines in colors that cannot be described to those who cannot see them. It is made up of shining, elaborate towers and halls, smooth and perfectly defined, and yet, indistinct from every other building on every planet in Heaven. Within Heaven, there are quadrillions of angels at any given time, with several billion others located outside of the universe and working in its interests. Malkuth The Kingdom of God, Malkuth is Heaven’s capital, Mastema’s throneworld, and the greatest, holiest of locations in all of Heaven. It is located at the center of Eden, within the supermassive black hole at its core, known as the Empyrean. Instead of a destructive distortion in spacetime, the singularity within this black hole is a gate in which Malkuth awaits, with the black hole existing as the planet’s halo. Without permission, reaching Malkuth is impossible. Space and time bend to make it infinitely distant, with every step traveled wearing away at the soul of any trespasser. Even teleportation cannot reach this space. Malkuth is not a natural planet, having been carved from metamatter by Yaldabaoth to serve as a capital. It is thus perfectly spherical, surface unbroken by even a single crater, and has a diameter of approximately ten thousand kilometers. It has a single moon, Mastema. The entire planet a testament to Heaven’s legacy - it is a barren, mechanical world devoid of much life, more of a trophy than it is Heaven’s heart. Indeed, little of true importance happens here that could not be done anywhere else. Every inch of Malkuth is covered by planet-wide temples and towers, making it an ecumenopolis. The buildings within Malkuth stretch kilometers into the ground, built all around its magical core. Despite its great size, Malkuth is sparsely populated by only a few hundred thousand angels and their constructs. The squabbling and corrupt highest ranked angels are not allowed on this sacred ground. At best, they are left to bicker on its moon, if they are allowed within this space at all. Malkuth’s inhabitants are those who have cast aside ambition and self-interest in loyalty to Mastema and their God. These include the most devout of Heaven’s monks and hermits, who spend their time in spiritual research, meditation, and prayer. Many of these sit in silence for millennia at a time, feeling Heaven’s magic at its purest in the air all around them, stirring only when Mastema demands their action. All the archangels can come here whenever they wish, but their seats of power are elsewhere. While most archangels do visit regularly, Jophiel has not set foot on this planet in millions of years. The six other high justices that answer to Mastema are free to come here as well, but their true abode is Malkuth’s moon, Mastema, the seat of Heaven’s Supreme Court. Like Malkuth, Mastema is covered by a planet-spanning metropolis, but it is much more populous, with its citizens focusing on administration and legislation. For most angels, a chance to travel to Malkuth would be an unfathomably great honor, the chance to step foot on the holiest of all planets and taste the purest air in Heaven. Such an honor is rare, reserved only for those who have done Heaven a great service, and these visits are usually quite short. Within its libraries, Malkuth contains the oldest and greatest records of information and history on Heaven, storing ancient secrets known only to the highest of angels. On Malkuth, there are more supercomputers than there are angels, each interfacing with Yesod and Heaven’s Halo and thus connecting directly to Mastema herself. They constantly process and record important information relayed to them by stations all across Heaven, giving Mastema access to all of it. Of all the staggering towers and networks of tunnels on Malkuth, none compare to the immense, labyrinthine Imperial Palace, where Mastema sits on her throne. Its great halls go unappreciated by most, as it is constantly patrolled by angels, with few ever seeing its interior. Mastema’s sanctum is found deeper on the planet than anything else, accessible only through a single, deep, and steep vertical drop. It is made up of many interconnected rooms - primarily offices, save for Mastema’s throne room, and far back and secluded, a "bedroom". Mastema’s offices are covered wall to wall with screens and supercomputers connected to Yesod and Heaven’s Halo, many of them allowing her to look across Heaven with ease, seeing through the eyes of other angels and technology. Her throne room is large, but contains nothing but her own immense throne. The room she uses for no particular purpose besides seclusion is strikingly bare, looking more like an empty, abandoned room than a bedroom. Far above Mastema’s chambers, a hall leads to a massive chamber, in which there is only a tall staircase leading up to large doors of ornate gold. This gate can only be opened by Mastema, and leads to the Luminary Sovereign’s secluded pocket dimension, Araboth, in which she has long since lost herself to her own delusions. Kokabiel The rogue planet Kokabiel is the location of the Angelic Research Bureau’s headquarters, and one of the most densely populated planets in Heaven. It orbits no particular star, instead drifting throughout Eden on a vague, circling path, directed by Jophiel’s whims. It is a planet with an atmosphere choked by millennia of industry and research, surrounded by its own halo of supercomputers, manufacturing facilities, and weapons platforms. Like most of the planets in Heaven, Kokabiel is not composed of physical matter, but instead metamatter, appearing to be perfectly, spherically cut from nothing. When it was first made, anyways. Year after year of weapon testing and the nightmarish, exponential growth of technology has warped the planet’s surface with craters, clusters of buildings, and masses of technology growing as if a forest. The planet itself has grown from all this new technology, giving it a diameter of fifty thousand kilometers. Kokabiel is filled with angels, mostly those of the administration, with members of the Angelic Research Bureau itself being a close second. The planet is one of the most liberal places in Heaven, but has many, many corrupt angels and has the highest rate of crime of any Heavenly planet. The angels that live in the cities surrounding the workshops and laboratories on Kokabiel do not live safe lives. Not only are they at risk of being murdered or killed in weapon testing “accidents”, being kidnapped and experimented upon is a very real and terrifying possibility. Still, many of the angels that live here are happy to roll the die in exchange for their greater freedom, as fleeting as it may be. Manufacturing on Kokabiel mainly takes place on the surface and on its halo, where warships, angels, and weapons are created. Kokabiel’s halo contains a complex network of supercomputers that watch over the planet, synchronizing with Yesod to coordinate the work it directs. Kokabiel’s halo is linked directly to the planet by many long pillars but would orbit it even without them, and contains communication, cloaking, shielding, assault, and teleportation technology. The entire planet is built for combat, and can be said to be Jophiel’s capital ship. Much of the research on Kokabiel occurs underground, in planet-spanning complexes and angel development facilities the size of countries. Thousands of angels are created here every day, but few ever leave Kokabiel, as it is here where the angel template is pushed to its limits, and where Heaven’s scientists work to improve on the design. Most of the angels born here are nothing more than experiments, with successful tests being sent to and replicated on the billions of development planets across Heaven. The lower these labs go, the more secret and dangerous the tests involved. The chambers of Kokabiel are devoted entirely to working directly on Jophiel’s plans to overthrow Mastema and conquer Heaven - while most of the research done on Kokabiel works towards this goal, it is here that it is at its most blatant. Only Jophiel’s highest-ranking allies are allowed into these top secret labs. Surrounding and encompassing the core of Kokabiel is Jophiel’s own private labs and quarters, where the most dangerous tests are performed… and where Jophiel spends much of her time, resting, plotting, and throwing juvenile tantrums. She has her own private, more luxurious retreats offworld, and on a few peaceful, beautiful spots on Kokabiel she constructed for her own purpose. Unbeknownst to most, Kokabiel is not just a planet. It in itself has become an angel due to Jophiel’s augmentations, one of the few outside of the Archangels to possess a Fruit of Life. It has its own mind, but in the end, it is little more than one of Jophiel’s many weapons, even if it may have desires of its own. Infrastructure Transportation in Heaven is a simple matter due to the inherent teleportation abilities of all angels, which let them teleport anywhere across Heaven instantly, making the cosmic distances separating them a non-issue. This teleportation is assisted by hubs scattered across the universe that make for easy beacons to track onto and teleport to. As teleportation makes travel so easy, Heaven has no need for other transportation systems, and so travelling across Heaven without teleportation is a difficult task, as every path is unmarked and whatever maps are available are typically hopelessly outdated. Due to the advanced state of Heavenly magic, it has no issues with energy production. Heaven’s own physical laws support this, as the universe has no entropy, making all energy transfers perfectly efficient and allowing energy to be reused effectively forever before it is destroyed. Still, Heaven can only draw upon a finite amount of energy from its sources, and so angels within the universe seek out new planets, stars, and galaxies to harvest for magical energy to fuel as many projects as possible. Heaven is a desolate place now, with a sky darkened by the deaths of countless stars and entire galaxies. While much of Heaven’s energy is derived from itself, draining galaxies and stars across the universe for fuel, just as much of it is taken from outside sources. Heavenly forces regularly raid other universes, taking entire planets and systems for energy, even, from time to time, consuming entire galaxies. Souls are taken for energy as well, and are often used in Heaven’s terrifyingly advanced blends of magic and technology. Heaven has no economy. Angels are given everything they need - which is little - in exchange for their absolute loyalty. Technology Heavenly technology, and the magic involved, is extremely advanced and has been from the start due to Yaldabaoth’s extensive scientific and mystic knowledge in her prime. These things came naturally to her, and were only further refined during the years she spent studying the world on her own. This knowledge is immortalized in Heaven’s many innovations and magical wonders, even though the knowledge has been lost to Yaldabaoth herself, living on even in angels themselves, born through magic. For the most part, Heaven draws upon magical, solar, and spiritual energy to power their machines and facilities, fuelling their weapons and spaceships with the energy of dying stars and galaxies. While each angel is a superweapon on their own, with the average combat-ready angel having the power to reduce entire planets to molten rock, Heaven possesses its own more conventional superweapons, mostly equipped on spaceships, which bear weaponry capable of wiping out galactic sectors and drawing on the power of galactic cores. Heaven’s magic and technology can be used for a wide variety of purposes, such as transdimensional travel, assault, and communication capabilities. Their spaceships have technology allowing them to teleport great distances, and in the event that they cannot use these abilities for whatever reason, they have their own Override Sigils allowing for rapid faster-than-light travel. They even possess technology that can create corridors of compressed space allowing them to greatly shorten the distance between two points. Heavenly technology can also be used in much of the same ways as magic, such as infringing on and manipulating cause and effect, the fabric of space and time, and the fundamental subjective concepts of the soul. Nearly all occupied planets on Heaven have complex supercomputer systems connected to Yesod, each individual unit capable of processing countless calculations in under a second, and all of them working in sync to properly process every byte of information that passes through. These supercomputers are often self-aware, even if it is only somewhat rudimentary. A common sight in Heaven are planetary halos, complex systems of development facilities, weapons platforms, and supercomputer systems that orbit planets. The greatest of these systems is the halo of the rogue planet Kokabiel, the primary base of operations for the Angelic Research Bureau. However, of all of Heaven’s starships, the greatest is the halo Godhead, also known as Heaven’s Halo. While it is similar in structure to the planetary halos that many important planets possess, it is much, much bigger, encompassing the galaxy of Eden like a ring. It is not just a supercomputer, but is an angel itself, with the capacity for magic, and equipped with weapon, teleportation, and energy absorption systems. It was created by Mastema in the wake of the original galactic halo’s destruction, and is completely under her control. It has, over time, greatly advanced to become the greatest supercomputer in Heaven, besides the archangels themselves. Laws Heaven’s greatest magical weapons are the weaponized and incarnated concepts referred to as laws. These represent one of Heaven’s many laws, physically manifested as a magical weapon, though the specifics and the nature of the law in question vary. Each law exists to enforce Heaven’s will, and they are incredibly powerful weapons. Originally, Yaldabaoth created only nine, one for each Archangel and two for herself, but the amount of laws has greatly increased over time, with many high-ranking angels wielding their own. Yesod Of all the works of genius in Heaven, there are few that can be said on the level of Yesod, the clearest demonstration of the intellect once possessed by the Luminary Sovereign. During the birth and formation of the universe that became Heaven, Yaldabaoth implanted the code for Yesod into its reality, causing it to spread all across the infinite universe as it expanded. It is an Override Sigil that exists on a universal scale, acting as a cloud of information that is linked to every single angel and computer in Heaven. Yesod is the foundation of communications systems in Heaven, a complex magical network that exists throughout the entire universe. All angels in Heaven instinctively utilize it to communicate and share information with others, and so it has grown to become something reaching the domain of a hive mind. Yesod connects all angels, all of their constructs, and all of their computers, almost as if it were another sense entirely. While most angels use Yesod just for communicative purposes, higher-ranked angels are able to manipulate it themselves to tap into the flow of information and observe angels and their thoughts from across Heaven. Through Yesod, telepathy can be used to look through and potentially control the minds of other angels. Information in Yesod is transmitted through multiple dimensions at once, and Yesod exists throughout all of these dimensions. While there is a singular unified Yesod network throughout all of Heaven, higher-ranked angels maintain their own more private networks that function on separate frequencies and dimensional levels, and the archangels have their own layer that is theirs alone. Jophiel has her own as well, centered around Kokabiel and shielded against hacking attempts so as to keep her information secret. All the information that passes through every Yesod channel, save for Jophiel’s own, floods back to Mastema’s throne on Malkuth, where she carefully combs through every byte to yearn as much information from it as possible. For Mastema, the minds of all angels are just open books. Due to Yesod’s integration into Heaven’s base reality, it has much more extensive potential uses than just a cloud of information. The greatest, most intelligent of angels can use it to program parts of Heaven, as if it were its source code. This is extremely difficult, however, as it requires the knowledge to interpret and manipulate information across multiple spatial dimensions. Yesod can theoretically be used by other beings if they know what to do, but it has numerous failsafes in place to stop any non-angelic being from utilizing it, as well as any angelic being not allied to Heaven. To them, all of Yesod may as well not exist. It is also incredibly difficult to hack into and control due to its structure and nature. Society Heaven is a highly bureaucratic, totalitarian, and theocratic. All the highest-ranking angels in Heaven are religious figures, seen as near the glory of the Divine, and as capable of dispensing divine wisdom. The archangels in particular are seen as extremely important religious figures, as the children of the Luminary Sovereign herself. Rising from a lower class to an upper class is possible, though extremely rare. Heaven heavily suppresses knowledge, falsifying most of its history through propaganda and the destruction of any contradictory sources of information. Most angels that live in Heaven never leave, so Heaven’s depiction of the outside world and everything else is picked up without much possibility for resistance. Heaven’s physical and interdimensional borders are heavily protected by its military, and civilian angels live far from anywhere where other beings could slip in. Heaven’s laws are strict, and are tightly interwoven with its religion, which revolves around the worship of the Divine Luminary Sovereign, who ordered all of existence and created Heaven in the first moments of reality. Regular prayer and, if possible, communal religious service, is obligatory for all angels. If angels are found to be lapsing in prayer, they are punished severely. The highest-ranking angels in Heaven are, generally - but not openly - seen as above the law. As long as they remain useful and continue to work in Heaven’s best interest, they are able to do whatever they please without fear of punishment. The highest levels of Heaven’s government are unsurprisingly highly corrupt. What passes for popular culture in Heaven is really just propaganda, regulated and released by the Heavenly Press. While there exist fictional works, it is inundated with misinformation and propaganda, so every piece of media acts to further convince angels of Heaven’s dominance and role in existence. Civilization Statistics Origin: Starcross ---- Name: The Seraphic Empire of Heaven Classification: Universal Totalitarian Empire, Theocratic Unitary State and Dictatorship Capital: Malkuth ---- Age: 20, 000, 000, 000~ Population: Quadrillions of angels Territory: All of Heaven and parts of other universes ---- Notable Individuals: '- Leaders:' * The Luminary Sovereign * The Archangel of Justice, Mastema * The Archangel of War, Abaddon * The Archangel of Light, Uriel * The Archangel of Truth, Sariel * The Archangel of Knowledge, Jophiel * The Archangel of Duty, Gabriel * The Archangel of Mercy, Raphael '- High-ranking Angels:' * Azrael, the Merciful Death * Dumah, the Silent Death * Metatron, the Voice of God '- Others:' * Harahel Combat Statistics Tier: High 5-A | 4-B to 4-A | 3-C Civilization Type: Multiversal Civilization. Heaven has complete control over its own universe and its rule is slowly spreading into other universes as well. Kardashev Level: Type III. Heaven technology can harness the energy of entire galaxies, burning them up into nothing but pure energy. Technology and Abilities: Magic, Limitless energy due to Heaven's lack of entropy, allowing for universally perfectly efficient energy transfers and energy sources that never diminish, Planet-spanning production plants that grow angels in tubes and pump them full of magical supplements and drugs to make them as powerful as possible, Starships and angels capable of interstellar travel and transdimensional teleportation, Universal data processing and information transfers through Yesod, a universe-spanning Override Sigil, Universal Shielding that bars teleportation, observation, and communication from other universes without proper clearance, Universal Sensors that can detect faster-than-light movement and activity in other universes, Planetary Halos used for the production of spacecraft and angels, Highly-advanced, (sometimes borderline) self-aware, living Supercomputers capable of processing unfathomable amounts of calculations in under a second, Telepathy (Angels can communicate across cross-dimensional distances and transmit information using their halos and their connection to Yesod), Absorption (Heavenly technology can be used to absorb energy and consume entire planets, stars, and galaxies, converting them into pure sources of magical energy), Causality Manipulation (Lots of Heavenly technology can alter the process of cause and effect and force it to align with their wills), Conceptual Manipulation (Type 4), Higher-Dimensional Manipulation (Heavenly technology can manipulate and utilize higher dimensions for the processing, transfer, and storage of data), Information Manipulation (Heavenly technology can manipulate information and data within Yesod and can transmit information across multiple dimensional scales and frequencies), Matter Manipulation (Heavenly technology can manipulate matter on a quantum scale), Mind Manipulation (Heavenly technology can dominate the minds of others), Soul Manipulation (Heavenly technology can harness the magical energy of souls and burn them up on an interstellar scale for magical energy, and can create the souls of angels), Spatial Manipulation (Heavenly starships can create spatial corridors that drastically shorten the distances between two points in space), Time Manipulation (Heavenly technology can alter the fabric of time), Reality Warping (All combat-ready angels have knowledge of Override Sigils, which can be used to overwrite the laws of physics, and Heaven has technology that allows them to "program" reality and change its laws as they please) Attack Potency: Dwarf Star level (The average combat-ready angel can destroy a planet and a single one would be a peer of EQUINOX and SOLSTICE at the time of their fight on Earth, during which EQUINOX converted 80% of the Moon into energy) | Solar System level to Multi-Solar System level (Angelic starships can triggers stars to burst into supernova and completely destroy their star systems, completely drain the energy of stars and black holes, and destroy galactic sectors with single shots) | Galaxy level (The greatest of Heaven's ships can completely consume the energy of galaxies to fuel their own operations and decimate them in a short amount of time with sustained fire. The largest and greatest of their ships, Godhead, is large enough to surround a galaxy). Power Source: Magical energy derived from the harvests of planets, stars, galaxies, and souls. Due to Heaven's lack of entropy, all energy processes in Heaven are perfectly efficient and energy is never lost under normal circumstances, so it has access to limitless amounts of energy and can use all energy sources infinitely. Industrial Capacity: Billions of planets dedicated to the development of angels and other weapons, capable of producing thousands upon thousands of angels in a single day. Other facilities produce starships and weapons in giant country-sized foundries, incessantly creating hundreds to thousands of ships in only a few days. Military Prowess: The Heavenly Host is made up of trillions of combat ready angels created and enhanced through blends of magic and technology to be natural killing machines capable of single-handedly destroying planets and wiping out interstellar civilizations. Weaknesses: Angels are ignorant, blinded by propaganda, completely loyal to Heaven, have little capacity for emotion and tend to think in stark black and white terms. Heaven itself is somewhat unstable due to Mastema's control over it and her self-destructive intent, and its great size means that it must deal with many opponents from all sides, including rebellious factions from within. Key: Average Combat-Ready Angels | Starships | Capital Ships / Godhead Others Notable Victories: Notable Losses: Inconclusive Matches: Category:Civilizations Category:Promestein's Pages Category:Agency Category:Absorption Users Category:Antagonists Category:Causality Users Category:Concept Users Category:Dimension Users Category:Forcefield Users Category:Information Users Category:Magic Users Category:Matter Users Category:Mind Users Category:Primary Antagonists Category:Reality Warpers Category:Soul Users Category:Space Users Category:Telepaths Category:Teleportation Users Category:Time Users Category:Tier 5 Category:Tier 4 Category:Tier 3